In some applications, electrical connectors generally require liberal performance tolerances and manufacturing tolerances to allow for the abusive conditions under which they are used. The terminals within such connectors must be physically long to allow a relatively large deflection range without degrading the long-term performance and properties of the terminal connections. A consequence of increased length is higher inductance and, since the terminals typically are mounted in parallel within a conductor, they may be prone to capacitive coupling when high-speed signals are transmitted by adjacent terminals. High capacitive coupling creates "cross-talk" between terminals of different differential pairs, which is one of the main reasons for electronic signal degradation.
In order to solve these problems, counter-measures have been taken, such as miniaturizing the connector components including the terminals. However, this complicates the associated tooling and assembly processes. Additional electronic devices can be added to "filter" the cross-talk or noise that has been introduced into the electrical signals. However, this significantly increases the costs of the connector. In some instances, selective pairing of terminals in a differential pair allows the characteristics of the original signal to be re-constructed. However, most connector designs cannot provide for a large variety of paired and de-coupled terminal combinations.
The present invention is directed to solving the myriad of problems described above by a unique terminal configuration in which the terminals are relatively long; the terminals providing maximum flexibility; the orientation of the terminals in pairs thereof being easily varied; and no additional costs being involved in tooling or assembly to achieve the design's flexibility.